🐿️Pinecone Attack

c/botany-lovers

15

tessa_kim3•2d ago

Rant: It took me four hours to identify a simple leaf spot fungus

I was staring at my begonia for like three weeks trying to figure out why it kept getting these brown spots. Thought it was sunburn, then overwatering, then some kind of pest. Pulled out my phone, took a dozen photos, posted on three different plant ID groups. Turns out it was just Cercospora leaf spot. A basic fungus. Four hours of my life gone because I didnt check the underside of the leaves first. Has anyone else spent way too long diagnosing something that had a dead simple fix?

14

the_robin•2d ago

My $90 propagator melted my seedlings overnight

Got a heated propagator from a garden center in Portland last month for about $90. Set it up with my tomato seeds, followed the instructions, but the temp controller stuck on high. Woke up to wilted stems and soil that felt like a hot tub. Anyone else had a heated propagator fail on them like this?

27

beth_hunt•2d ago

Spent $45 on a soil thermometer and it saved my tomato starts

I used to just stick my finger in the dirt to see if it was warm enough to plant tomatoes. Then I killed a whole flat of starts two springs ago when we got a cold snap after I planted too early. My neighbor laughed at me and handed me a soil thermometer she got for like 15 bucks, but I splurged on a nicer one for 45. Turns out the soil was 10 degrees colder than I thought that whole week. Has anyone else had their starts ruined by not checking soil temp properly?

13

troykim•4d ago

Overheard a botanist arguing that houseplants are basically just high-maintenance decor, got me thinking

Honestly, is keeping a fiddle leaf fig alive really a sign of skill or just stubbornness, and does the emotional payoff of watching it grow beat the frustration of dropping $40 on a new one every time it dies?

16

mason.anna•4d ago

I compared starting my tomato seedlings in peat pots vs. newspaper pots this spring and wow what a difference.

I did 10 plants each back in March, using the same soil and seeds from Burpee. The peat pot ones got all moldy on the sides after a few weeks, while the newspaper ones were perfectly fine and the roots grew right through. Has anyone else had weird luck with those peat pots or was it just my setup in the garage?

12

the_mia•5d ago

Just realized pitcher plants eat more than bugs in the wild

I was reading this random blog about carnivorous plants and found out some big pitcher plants in Borneo actually digest tree shrew poop too. It blew my mind because I always thought they just trapped insects and that was it. Has anyone here seen this happen in person or know what species do that?

22

spencerw72•7d ago

Went to the botanical garden downtown and the cactus room was a total mess

I finally hit up the city botanic garden last Saturday after hearing good things. Walked into the cactus and succulent room and half the plants had dead leaves just sitting there on the soil. A few of the agaves were so wilted they were leaning sideways out of their pots. I get that keeping a desert room right is tough, but for $15 admission I expected someone to at least trim the dead stuff. Has anyone else had bad luck with their local garden's plant care?

1

wyatt862•10d ago

Overheard a plant shop employee whisper "stop naming your plants, Susan"

I was browsing at a nursery in Austin and this employee muttered that under her breath to a coworker after some lady named her pothos "Gertrude." It hit me hard because I have 12 plants with full names and maybe I took it way too far.

12

michaelrodriguez•11d ago

That neighbor who told me to stop watering my succulents every week

Old Mrs. Garcia saw me drenching my jade plant and said 'you're killing it with kindness, honey.' Sure enough after I switched to once a month the thing doubled in size. Anybody else have an older gardener set them straight on something basic?

7

fionarodriguez•11d ago

Caught poison ivy in my own garden at the greenway trial

I was clearing out some overgrown beds behind the community garden off Greenway Trail last month. Pulled what I thought was Virginia creeper for about 45 minutes without gloves. Woke up the next day with blisters all up my forearms and had to take three days off work. Now I keep a pair of heavy leather gloves tied to my belt loop every time I go near that area. Has anyone else had trouble telling poison ivy apart from lookalikes in your own yard?

13

blairm44•11d ago

Used to baby my fiddle leaf fig with bottled water now I just use tap

Tbh I used to only water my fiddle leaf fig with filtered bottled water because I read somewhere that tap water chemicals could hurt it. Did that for like 6 months and spent probably $40 on water just for one plant. Then last spring I got lazy and used tap water straight from the sink and nothing happened, the leaves didn't even brown. Now I just fill a jug and let it sit out overnight before using it, saves me money and time. Has anyone else stopped doing some extra step they thought was necessary?

6

milabaker•11d ago

Visited a wrecked greenhouse outside Austin last weekend

I drove out to an abandoned greenhouse off Highway 290 that's been shuttered since 2018 and found a ton of volunteer herbs like rosemary and mint still thriving in the broken pots. Has anyone else stumbled across old gardens that just refuse to die off?

12

butler.shane•15d ago

That compost bin mistake I made last June

I was mixing my pile in the backyard and found a whole dead rat in there. Turns out I had too much wet kitchen waste and not enough browns. Has anyone else dealt with pests in their compost?

4

brooke533•16d ago

Vent: My repotting routine backfired big time on my Monstera

I repotted my Monstera deliciosa into a bigger ceramic pot last Sunday and used a new bag of soil from a different brand. By Wednesday the leaves were drooping and yellow, turns out the soil held way too much water and the roots started rotting. Anyone else had a plant freak out after switching soil brands mid-season?

24

holly_craig•19d ago

Botanic garden in Des Moines had a plant I'd never seen before

I swung by the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden last weekend on a whim. They had this agave from Mexico that was over 12 feet tall, I guess it had been growing there since 1989. Never knew those things could get that massive in a greenhouse setting. Has anyone else seen a mature agave in person and been surprised by the size?

26

craig.brian•20d ago

Bought a $40 'rare' orchid off Etsy and it came with root rot and mealybugs

I got excited when I found a variegated phalaenopsis listing from a seller with decent photos. It arrived in a soggy moss plug that smelled like a bog. I peeled back the medium and half the roots were brown mush, plus white fuzz on the leaves. Tried to save it with hydrogen peroxide and new bark, but the mealybugs spread to my other plants before I caught them. Lost the orchid and had to treat three others for months after. The seller ghosted me when I asked for a refund. Anyone else had bad luck buying plants online from small shops?

14

emma684•21d ago

Kept killing my peace lilies until I swapped from tap water to filtered water and suddenly they're thriving

I was debating whether spending $20 on a Brita pitcher was worth it just for my plants, but after 3 months the difference is wild - no more brown tips and they're actually putting out new leaves, anyone else had this kind of luck switching water sources?

12

thomas862•23d ago

Tried grafting a tomato onto a potato rootstock and got a weird surprise

I saw this video about making a "pomato" plant where you graft a tomato top onto a potato root system. So I tried it with a cherry tomato and a Yukon Gold potato last spring. The top grew fine but the potatoes underneath were tiny, like marble sized. The tomatoes tasted kind of... earthy? Not bad but definitely different. Has anyone else tried this combo and gotten a better yield?

3

cole_mitchell8•23d ago

That exotic orchid seller on Etsy I was sure was a scam turned out legit

I ordered a Vanda coerulea from a shop in Florida with only 12 reviews back in March. Figured I'd lose my $45 but the plant arrived in 3 days, packed perfectly with sphagnum moss. The roots were fat and green, not a single bruise. It's now throwing out a flower spike after 4 months of my mediocre care. Has anyone else taken a chance on a small orchid seller and gotten lucky?

2

maxhart•24d ago

My peace lily survived a full two weeks without water after I stopped babying it

I kept watering mine every few days like the internet said and it kept drooping, so I ignored it for 14 days straight while on a job up in Bangor and it came back greener than ever, has anyone else had luck just neglecting a houseplant on purpose?

25

mason209•27d ago

The week my philodendron went from green to yellow overnight almost broke me

Last Tuesday I walked into my plant room and saw one of my biggest philodendrons had turned yellow on half its leaves. I'd been watering it the same way for 2 years. Turns out I had a fungus gnat infestation I didn't notice until I repotted it and saw the larvae all over the roots. Took me three days of neem oil treatments and a full soil swap to get it stable. Has anyone else had a plant go south that fast for no obvious reason?

4

jones.grace•29d ago

Tried rooting a rose cutting in plain water instead of soil...

I always thought you needed special potting mix and rooting hormone to get cuttings to take. Last month I just stuck a cutting from my neighbor's climbing rose into a jar of tap water on the windowsill. After 3 weeks I saw tiny white roots starting to form. I figured it would just rot or get slimy but it actually grew a whole root system in 6 weeks. Now I'm wondering if I've been overcomplicating this whole propagation thing for years. Has anyone else tried this method and had it work better than soil?

23

gray_gibson•29d ago

Hot take: Overwatering is a myth for most houseplant deaths

I killed 3 snake plants in 2 years before I realized it wasn't overwatering but root rot from bad soil. Someone at a nursery in Raleigh told me to check the roots of my pothos that looked sad. Turns out I was using regular potting mix that held too much water and suffocated the roots. Now I mix in 40% perlite and a handful of orchid bark for drainage. My plants doubled in size in 6 months after I switched. What's your take, is it really overwatering or is the soil mix the silent killer?

21

nora_wells58•1mo ago

Just noticed a ton of people watering their succulents wrong around here

I've been volunteering at the local garden center for about 3 months now, and I keep seeing folks drench their succulents like they're ferns. Last Tuesday, a lady brought in a rotting echeveria and said she waters it every day because the top soil feels dry. I had to explain that succulents store water in their leaves and need the soil to dry out completely between waterings, sometimes 2 weeks between drinks. How do you all tell your customers or friends about this without sounding like a jerk?

19

barbararamirez•1mo ago

TIL a random fact about ferns from a stranger at the nursery

I overheard this older guy telling someone ferns don't actually flower, they reproduce through spores on the underside of leaves, and it made me realize how little I actually know about common plants. Has anyone else learned something basic from a random conversation?